Junior instructors show how to roll with the waves
When the Montana Kayak Academy began in the fall of 2016, it was a volunteer organization that offered free instruction for youth ages 8-18 years old.
Three years ago, owner Paul Moffett hired instructor Dave Meyers to be the executive director, other instructors were hired, and fees were charged for instruction. However, scholarships are available for children and adults to get on the water.
“I didn't want, ever, finances to be a hindrance for someone to get on the river,” Meyers said, adding that when he grew up with inexpensive instruction and free gear. “That's where that scholarship program comes in, and we’re just asking folks to pay what they can.”
Meyers said getting and retaining qualified instructors had been a problem for the organization. Instructors require many certifications in addition to first aid and CPR training. The academy’s classes feature a six-to-one, participant-to-coach ratio.
That struggle, coupled with increased adult open enrollment and a heightened interest in paddle sports, led to the formation of the junior instructor program.
Some of the academy’s first group of students, who were beginners nearly 10 years ago, are now 16-18 years old. Meyers would like to see more students go through the program and become teachers for the program.
“We have four students that are now going to be teaching for us,” he said. “I want people that are passionate about what they're doing and love what they're doing to be teaching.”
The junior instructor program supports the kids’ passion for the river and the environment. Meyers said if people have a passion for something, they want to conserve it and protect it.
“I feel like we're creating these little river stewards,” Meyers said.
One of those river stewards is not new to the role. Fifteen-year-old Case Koopal took beginner kayak classes through the Montana Kayak Academy at Lion Lake about five years ago when he fell in love with the sport.
He said the kayaking community is one of the main draws of the sport.
“The people you get to know through kayaking -- it's a super tight-knit community, very nice people,” Koopal said. “You get to know all the river guides ... and then you end up just meeting people along the way that you're going to make bonds with.”
Koopal has been watching the other instructors for years and went through additional training to work with classes of children and adults.
While he may be new to teaching, Koopal is not new to being a steward for the environment.
“Case grew up on the rivers. He’s been on the rivers since he was 2 years old,” said his mother, Mae Koopal. “Dave and the crew do river cleanups and things like that, so Case has opportunities to go out kayaking with different groups of people and they might do a river cleanup or help pull weeds. That’s a big part of the culture – being a good steward.”
Two of the academy’s junior instructors are brothers, Bridger and Emmet Donaldson.
“I've had four kids do MKA,” Shannon Donaldson, the boys’ mother, said. “They're just teaching all the fundamentals so [I know] that they're going to be good to go and that they have a group of buddies, and they can trust each other. It's been an amazing program for sure.”
Bridger, 17, started kayaking with the Academy when he was about 10 years old.
“Over the last, however many summers that I've been whitewater kayaking, I've really fallen in love with it a lot,” he said. “Getting out on the river with a lot of people who are really positive and then all the technique that's involved with it. For me, it’s a really great summer hobby.”
Bridger brings some teaching experience to the junior instructor program because he worked for an outdoor learning center for a few summers.
“I enjoy teaching people things in general,” he said. “I just like to see people picking it up as I picked it up, and being able to demonstrate things and help out and especially working with kids.”
The Montana Kayak Academy provides instruction and gear, it bolsters the kayaking community and promotes protection of the natural environment.
“The more people they get out there on the water, the more people care about it,” Shannon said.
MONTANA KAYAK Academy offers open enrollment courses. People can sign up online for a three-day introductory course. Meyers said the three-day format allows students to get a better feel for the sport.
“Having that three days in a row, you really get to learn what you like what you don't,” he said. “There are a lot of factors on controlling that kayak and being comfortable in that river environment where if you stop paddling, you're still actually moving. There's no real pause button.”
His aim is to create a vibrant whitewater kayaking community, and with his energy level and love of kayaking, he is sure to succeed. His enthusiasm extends to teaching.
“Being able to see someone on day one, not know how to hold their paddle correctly, and then day three, they're going through class 2 whitewater with a smile, and they can eddy out, it's just super, super rewarding,” he said.
Meyers remembers his introduction to kayaking when he was 9 years old.
"I was born and raised down in Bigfork,” he said. “I was fortunate to grow up with a brother that taught me, more learned by fire, and he just threw me in there and I didn't really like it at first.
“I was really, really scared of rivers, but was able to get over that fear and kayak more and just get more confidence,” he added.
Now 34, Meyers has kayaked all over the world, on six continents and in 35 countries.
"I have met the best people in the world on the river,” he said. “And so, I would love to give that opportunity to a few folks in the Flathead Valley. I feel like the world would be a better place if more people were on the river.”